TV Pilot to be filmed in North Olympic Peninsula

The pilot for a possible new TV show, Rainforest, will be filmed this summer in various North Olympic Peninsula locations.  Probable locations include Port Townsend, Forks, Port Angeles, Sequim and Lake Quinault.

The TV show's creator, Scott A. Capestany, has met with Jamestown S'Klallam tribal leaders to work out an agreement.  The tribe will allow filming on reservation land and provide historic advisers to ensure accuracy.

Capestany said he has “a desire to weave into my fictional story of the rain forest an authentic Native American component.  That component, now, is going to be told the through the eyes of the S'Klallam tribe and their historians. We are working with their team of storytellers. We are just honored to have that partnership.” 

 7 Cedars Casino CEO Jerry Allen said:

“I think this is really a compliment to the tribe that Scott wants to do something like this.  We are excited to be part of it. There were a lot of choices. When you think about the number of tribes that circle this peninsula and the fact that we were able to put this together, we are very, very flattered.”

Capestany said he will also be working with the Quileute Tribe, Lake Quinault School District, the Forest Service and National Park Service.

Clallam County Treasurer will withhold Grants to City and Port

Clallam County Treasurer Selinda Barkhuis has said she will withhold the grants to the City and Port of Port Angeles. The three county commissioners had voted on May 12th to grant $1 million to the Port to complete a composites recycling center, and $285,952 to the City of Port Angeles for waterfront improvements.

This money had been earmarked for the Carlsborg sewer.

In an email, Barkhuis wrote:
 
“In my opinion, county commissioners do not have the authority to 'authorize' and 'wish' away their own compliance with provisions in state law and county policy that entitle county taxpayers to public hearings and written contracts.  As such, as the duly elected county treasurer acting on behalf of the Clallam County taxpayers, I will withhold the funds for these grants until the Clallam County Superior Court has determined whether these funds are being 'disbursed according to law.  To the extent that the Board of County Commissioners utilizes taxpayer-funded legal representation to pursue disbursement of these funds in the absence of prior public hearings and written contracts, I will request the county Superior Court to appoint me independent legal representation to assist me in defending these important taxpayer rights before the county Superior Court judiciary, to occur before the funds leave the county treasury forever.”

Peninsula Poll Question 5/29/15

Should voters elect Superior Court judges, or should the judges be appointed outside the political process?

Number of votes cast: 490 


The poll question is based on this PDN article.

PDN Letter to the Editor: “Nothing Left”

I think I've finally figured out the PDN's policy for publishing letters to the editor.  If you have a valid point to make — a constructive solution to a local problem — the PDN might or might not print your letter.  Probably not though.

But if you spew out a page full of incoherent pointless venom, the PDN will happily print your letter.  If a pile of vomit could be translated into words, it would look like the letter in the 5/26 PDN titled “Nothing Left.”

Most people find a constructive outlet for their pent-up rage:  a vigorous workout, cranking up the stereo, a hobby, screaming into a pillow; something.  Or you can just hurl into the PDN letters section, as follows:

“As I pen this letter, I can't find the proper words to tell my disgust with whomever is responsible for the decay of downtown Port Angeles.  I came here in 1941...Downtown was booming with banks, clothing stores, cages, jewelry stores.

Now because someone is responsible for people closing up shop, I was so embarrassed to see cruise ship people coming to see what?  Port Angeles is dead.  Even the big oil rig would have been something to look at.  My God, city fathers, open your eyes.  What do you see that I don't to bring people here?  I've been in Ketchikan, Alaska, where cruise ships come in up to five at a time.  The paper there said 10,000 passengers there on a Thursday, with money pouring in.

So passengers walked down Front Street.  What, dear God, did they see?  Wake up, Port Angeles:  there is nothing left here.  Anything new, someone votes it out.”

Peninsula Poll Question 5/19/15

This isn't exactly a local issue, but...

Do you agree or disagree with President Obama on whether local police should have military-style gear?

Number of votes cast: 573 


The poll was based on this article.

Navy Delayed in Plans for Electronic Warfare Testing on Olympic Peninsula

The People Have Spoken. After being deluged with public comments on their plan to zap Olympic National Park and the Olympic Peninsula, the Navy has delayed its target date from September 2015 to early 2016.

The U.S. Forest Service will be hiring a third-party contractor [and who might that be?] to help them process the 3,134 comments. 

Derek Kilmer Expresses Concern over Impact of Growler Jet Noise and Electronic Warfare Range

Congressman Derek Kilmer has written to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Federal Interagency Committee on Aviation Noise (FICAN) Chairman Kevin Shepherd, asking them to study the impact of increased jet noise on wildlife and whether tourists would stop visiting Olympic National Park.

He said:

“With the potential for increased noise, I want the government to use the latest science to ensure the soundscape and environment of this iconic landscape is protected and respected.”

He said the Navy has already conducted a noise study, but it “was based on metrics and an analytical framework that is more commonly associated with community noise in urban settings and not appropriate for analyzing the impacts to a national park.”

Could Port Angeles be “Best Town Ever?”

The website Outside Online is running its fifth annual “Best Town Ever” contest.  Qualifications include good access to trails and public lands, thriving neighborhoods, and a good beer and restaurant scene. 

Winners and runners-up from previous contests are excluded.

“Multi-modal Transportation and Bicycles” to be topic at Chamber of Commerce Luncheon

At tomorrow's Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon, the topic will be “The Future of Multi-modal Transportation and Bicycles.”

Guests will include Barbara Chamberlain, executive director of Washington Bikes; Jeff Bohman, president of the Peninsula Trails Coalition; Kevin Dayton, state Department of Transportation Olympic region transit liaison; and Wendy Clark-Getzin, general manager of Clallam Transit System.

An introduction will be provided by George Bergner, director of Port Angeles Likes Bikes.